Cultivator.



PATENTED OCT. 1, 1907.

W. B. JOHNSON.

GULTIVATOIL APPLICATION FILED JAN. 19 190B.

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No. 867.378- PATBHTED OUT. 1, 1907..

w. E. JOHNSON. GULTIV'ATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 19, 1906.

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No. 867,378. PATENTED OCT. 1 1907.

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0ULTIVATOR..

APPLICATION FILED JAN.19, 1906.

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WILLIAM E. JOHNSON, OF ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS.

CULTIVATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 1, 1907.

Application filed January 19, 1906. Serial No 296,750.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Rock Island, Rock Island county, Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Cultivators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to cultivators in general, but more particularly to cultivators of that class in which the shovel gangs are raised and lowered through the medium of mast pipes and arms, and especially to cultivators of that type in which provision is made not only for regulating the depth to which the shovels may enter the ground, but also for shifting the wheel axle forward and back, and for thereby maintaining the desired balance of the rider upon the cultivator.

Generally stated, the object of my invention is the provision of an improved and highly efiicient cultivator.

Special objects of my invention are the provision of an improved arrangement for regulating or varying the depth to which the shovels may enter'the ground; the provision of an improved depth-regulating arrangement in combination with mast arms and pipes for raising and lowering the shovel gangs; the provision of an improved depth-regulating arrangement in combination with a balancing shaft or connection for shifting the wheel axle forward and back, and for thus maintaining the desired balance of the rider upon the cultivator; and the provision of certain details and features of improvement tending to increase the general efficiency and serviceability of a cultivator of this particular character.

To the foregoingand other useful ends, my invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a cultivator embodying the principles of my invention; Fig. 2 is a plan of the same. Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of my improved depthregulating arrangement. Fig. 4 shows the said depth regulating arrangement in a different position. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view of the connection between the upper ends of the mast arms and mast pipes. Fig. 6 is an enlarged section on line 66 in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is an enlarged front elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 3, with certain portions broken away for convenience in illustration. Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail section on line 88 in Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail sectional view on line 99 in Fig. 7. Fig. 10 is a detail perspective view of the right-hand end-portion of the devices shown in Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is a perspective of the end-portion of the rod or toothed bar shown in the other views.

As thus illustrated, and referring more particularly to Figs. 3 to 11 inclusive, my invention comprises a pair of mast arms A having their lower ends pivotally mounted upon the bolts a which are supported in brackets a rigidly mounted upon the horizontal and transverse upper portion of the bail-shaped wheel axle B. Each mast arm is provided at its inner side with a casting a and these castings provide slots a between their inner surfaces and the opposing side surfaces of the said mast arms. The bolts or extend transversely through the said mast arms and castings (1 as illustrated more clearly in Figs. 7 and 8. The castings a are provided with prongs a and upon each bolt a a lever arm a is pivotally mounted. Each of said lever arms is provided with an apertured lug a and the forkshaped distal end portion a The manually adjustable racks or link-like members a are provided With forward portions a adapted to slide in the apertures of the lugs a and are formed with extreme end portions a adapted to prevent the portion a from being pulled back and disengaged entirely from the lever arms a. However, by twisting these racks a to one side, the end portion o will be turned verticaland thereby permitted to pass through the apertures a in the said lugs, when such disengagement is desired.

On their under sides the said adjustable racks or linklike members are provided with rack teeth a adapted to hook over or engage the bolts 0.. At their extreme rear ends these racks or link-like members a are pro vided with handles a by which they can be adjusted to suit the requirements. In other words, these members a will readily slide backwards upon the bolts 11", but the teeth (1 are so formed that they Will not slide upon the said bolts in an opposite direction; and in this way each tooth is adapted to serve as a hook for positively connecting its allotted lever arm a with the bolt 01 and its mast arm. Lifting springs or have their rear ends secured to the bolts (1 and their forward ends secured to chains a the latter'being in turn hitched to the hooks a" on the forward draft connections 0. The fork-shaped distal end portions (1 of the lever arms a are adapted to engage the under side of the springs a, as illustrated in Fig. 3. The balance of the cultivator comprises a horizontally-disposed U-shaped frame D mounted upon the said bail-shaped axle B and rigidly connected with the tongueE. A seat F is adjustably secured upon the rear end of the said U-shaped frame. The shovel gangs G have their forward ends pivotally connected with the draft connections C, which latter are suitably connected with the said tongue and frame. The shovel gangs are provided with shovels g of any suitable character. As illustrated, the upper ends of the mast arms A are pivotally connected with the upper ends of the so-called mast pipes 11 and the latter are pivotally connected at their lower ends with the said shovel gangs.

In Fig. 6 are illustrated the connections between the upper ends of the mast pipes and the mast arms,

this connection consisting of an I-bolt I which extends through the mast pipe, and which is pivotally mounted upon the bolt 1' extending through the upper end of the mast arm. A balancing shaft .1 extends transversely beneath the frame D at the rear end of the tongue, and is mounted to rock in suitable bearings. This balancing shaft is provided with a hand lever j, and with arms j which are connected by rods jwith the bail-shaped axle B. The usual hand-operated locking device on the said lever is adapted to cooperate with the toothed rack 7' in locking the said balancing shaft in any desired position, so as to retain the said bale-shaped axle in any desired position relatively to the frame. In this way, the rider can shift the axle relatively to the frame, so as to preserve the desired balance of the cultivator upon its axlev Preferably the mast pipes II are provided with handles it by which the rider sitting in the seat F can bodily raise and lower the shovel gangs, the springs a assisting in this operation. When the shovel gangs are lower, the intermediate portion of each lifting spring is engaged by its allotted lever arm a and thus the weight of the shovel gangs not only produces an endwise pull on the said springs, but is also further and yielding ly resisted by a lateral and upward pressure on said springs. This lateral and upward pressure on said springs can, it will be observed, be changed when desired by shifting the toothed rack members a upon the bolts a, thus varying the angle between the mast arms A and the lever arms a, thereby varying the depth to which the springs will allow the shovel gangs to enter the ground. The different adjustments in this respect are illustrated by Figs. 3 and 4; as in Fig 3, the adjustment is such that the shovels will enter the ground but slightly, while in Fig. 4 the adjustment is such that the shovels may enter the ground to a considerable depth. When the shovel gangs are raised out of the ground by the rider, the springs have sufficient tension to then hold the mast pipes between the prongs a and to thus retain the gangs in elevated positions. When the gangs are raised out of the ground, the smooth slender forward portion a of the rack members a slide freely forward in the aperture (1. Thus it will be seen that I provide an improved and efficient depth-regulating device. The regulation of the depth to which the shovels are allowed to enter the ground is accomplished by varying the lateral and upward pressure on the lifting springs. The arrangement is so simple and efiicient, and so easily and quickly manipulated, that a constant depth of cultivation is possible regardless of the condition of the ground surface. Furthermore, if one wheel is running along 011 a ridge, the gang on that side can be instantly lowered by unhooking the small rack or toothed member, by dropping its allotted spring or lever arm away from the spring. If later on the same wheel should drop into and run along in a furrow, the

said spring or lever arm can then be brought up under the spring to a height or degree that will hold the shovels at that side up as high as may be necessary in order to maintain an even depth of cultivation. Again, the forward ends of the lifting springs are conneeted, it will be seen, by a chain to hooks on the couplings 0, thus providing a long low hitch, and holding the mast arms and mast pipes securely in their forward positions when the gangs are raised.

In this wa the gan s will not tend to dlor down when turning aroundv If more tension is desired for the springs, this may be accomplished by shortening the chain connections by which the springs are given the forward hitch. With this construction, and with. shovels properly set, the gangs follow the line of draft with practically no assistance from the feet of the rider.

It will be understood, of course, that vehicle wheels K of any suitable or known character are mounted upon the ends or spindles of the axle 1%.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A cultivator comprising shovel gangs, must arms and ma t pipes for raising and lowering said gangs, springs for ting in r1 sing the gan and readily adjustable means for varying the lateral pressure on said springs to vary the working depth of the shovels.

2. A cultivator comprising shovel gangs. mast arms and mast pipes for raising and lowering said gangs, springs for assisting in raising the gangs, and pivoiedlever arms and adjustable racks for varying the pressure on the said springs to vary the working depth of the shovels.

h. A cultivator comprising shovel gangs, in: arms and mast pipes for raising and lowering said gang. springs for assisting in raising the gangs, and pivoted lever arms u and adjustable racks (1, together with bolts o engaging said racks, for varying the lateral upward pressure on said springs to vary the working depth of the shovels.

*1. A cultivator comprising shovel gangs. springs for assisting in lifting said gangs, and for holding said gangs in elevated positions, pivoted lever arms having their free ends loosely engaging the under sides of said springs when the shovels are in the ground, and manually adjustable ra for varying the pi ssure of the said lever arms upon the said springs, and for thereby varying depth of the shovels.-

A cultivator ci'rmprising shovel gan s. beam couplings for the forward ends of said gangs, lifting springs having their forward ends hitched to said couplings, said springs having a rearward and slightly upward direction or lrend, pivoted lever arms having their free ends loosely engaging the under sides of the said springs when the shovels are in the ground, adjustable racks connected for varying the de gree of pressure of the said lever arms upon the said springs, and bolts the teeth of said racks engaging said bolts to give the shovels any desired degree of working depth.

(i. A cultivator comprising shovel gangs, :1 bail-shaped axle, vehicle wheels upon said axle. a U-shaped frame upon said axle, a tongue secured to said frame. a seat mounted on said frame, mast arms pivotally supported by said axle, mast pipes connecting the upper ends of said mast arms to said shovel gangs. beam couplings for the forward ends of said gangs, :1 bnlancingshaft and connections for rocking the axle beneath the same to balance the weight thereon, springs having their rear ends hitched to said mast arms and their forward ends hitched to said beam couplings, pivoted levers carried by the axle and having their free ends at times loosely engaging the under sides of said springs, bolts carried by the mast arms. and racks having sliding connection with both the mast arms and the said lever arms, the teeth of said racks lockingly engaging said bolts to hold the shovels at the desired depth in the ground, and the rear ends of said racks being conveniently disposed within reach of the driver occupying the said seat.

7. A cultivator comprising shovel gangs, lifting springs for said gangs, :1 forward hitch for each spring. connections between the shovel gangs and the rear ends of said springs, pivoted lever arms having free ends to engage the under sides of said springs to limit the downward movement of the shovel gangs, racks having sliding connections the working with said lever arms and having shifting connections with sides of said springs, and adjustable racks for varying the 10 the medium of connection between the gangs and the rear pressure of the lever arms upon the springs, together with ends of said springs, the teeth of said racks engaging means for engaging the teeth of said racks.

means to permit the springs to yieldingly support the Signed by me at Rock Island I11. this 9th day of Jany,

gangs at any desired depth. 1906.

8. A cultivator comprising shovel gangs, lifting springs WILLIAM E. JOHNSON. for said gangs, mast arms and mast pipes for lifting the Witnesses: gangs, Ibolts connecting the mast arms with the upper A. B. FRENIER,

ends of the mast-pipes, lever arms engaging the under E. C. DEAN. 

